Somebody to Lean On
by pixi-styx1221
Summary: Do you beleive in angels? I know I do. Actually, I kinda have to, seeing as I am part-angel. My Da's full; anyways, I guard someone you'd never suspect of needing an angel...but the truth is, he needs me badly! Rating may change!
1. Prologue

The sound of the telephone's ring startled Harry out of his reverie and he suppressed a sigh. Dudley waddled to the phone, snapping a harsh "What?" into the mouthpiece. A minute later, Dudley pulled away from the phone and yelled, "Dad! Phone's for you!" Harry grimaced at the loud noise and his cousin smirked.

_Sorry, Dudley, but your smirk has nothing on Professor Snape's,_ Harry thought, continuing the arduous task of cleaning the entire kitchen.

"Hey, freak, you missed a spot," Dudley jeered. Harry ignored him. "I'll tell Mum, freak." Harry continued with his cleaning as Vernon finally entered to answer the phone. "Dad, the freak's ignoring me!" Dudley immediately whined. Vernon whirled around, his arm flashing out fast to strike Harry, who made no effort to get out of the way.

Harry's head snapped back from the force of the blow, and he barely managed to keep his anger from flaring to life. Somewhere within the depths of his mind, he knew to stop and focus on something else, so he did just that: he went back to his cleaning.

"Next time Dudley tells you to do something, you do it. Got that you miserable brat?" Harry flicked his eyes in the general direction of his uncle and nodded, not daring to speak. Vernon grunted and answered the phone. "Yes, Vernon Dursley speaking?"

Jamilene Dawson, or Jami as she liked to be called, looked around blandly. All she could see was mist, or was it fog? Either way, she couldn't see clearly. In fact, the only things she could see were a few shadowy forms and a pinpoint of light here and there. She vaguely wondered if this had anything to do with her unknown father. Since it had only been a drunken one night stand, and since her mother had been thoroughly sloshed, she knew nothing about the man who was her father. She had no knowledge of his looks or his name, and it wouldn't have mattered either way. She was the spitting image of her mom, everyone said so.

Jami looked up, startled from her thoughts, when a voice as soothing and quiet as a balmy breeze drifted to her ears. "We have been waiting for you, young Jamilene. Please, come in." (A/N: Don't do it, Jami! No, don't do it!) A large set of double doors appeared in front of her and as Jami moved slowly forward, so, too, did the doors slowly open.

Jami walked in and took a cursory glance of the room. It was a circular chamber with stands all around, so there was no way to protect her back with a wall. People of all races filled the stands, and when Jami said all, she meant it literally. There were humans, humans with magic, elves, vampires, werewolves, veela; every type of ethnic group seemed to be in attendance.

"May I inquire as to why I'm here?" Jami asked. As soon as she spoke, her hand flew to her throat for the voice that spoke wasn't hers. Her voice was low and slightly rough, and could easily be described of as almost male.

The voice she'd spoken with, however, was very different. The voice she'd had was light and airy. Musical, like the sweet notes of a flute or piano, or like the tinkling of wind chimes. It was soft, beautiful, amazing…almost ethereal, and compared to the loud obnoxious words the other voice formed, this was, quite simply, the best.

Jami broke from her analytical musings and forced her thoughts back to the subject at hand. The men and women around her seemed to be waiting patiently and she looked to the far wall where a slightly larger chair was located. A young man with dark hair to match his dark eyes sat watching her. When he noticed he had her attention, he smiled.

"The differences are a bit hard to take in at the present moment, but I ask for your patience and for you to retain your questions until I am finished. At that point, you may say anything you wish. Will you please do that for me?" Jami nodded in reply. "I thank you, young one." He paused for a moment, as if pondering what to say.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning but sometimes the beginning is the end." Another pause. "Have you ever done anything strange or unexplainable before?" Jami nodded and the man seemed to think some more. "Would you believe me if I told you that there was such a thing as magic?" Again, the girl nodded. "And if I told you you could use, control, and manipulate it?" Now it was Jami's turn to think. Did she believe she could use magic? The answer was immediate.

"Yes, I suppose so," she said in her new voice. The man nodded, obviously back in his own little world.

After a few more minutes, he looked back up at her. "And angels?" he demanded. Jami frowned in confusion, wondering just what this had to do with her, and if the man was even sane.

"Sorry?"

"Do you believe in angels?" He repeated.

"Yes, sir, yes I do."

"Good, good. Not many people do, these days, I'm afraid. Now let me tell you a rather short story. There was once a young couple, a witch and a wizard, who loved each other very much. One was born of two non magical people, while the other was born of one magic and one non magic. Their love for each other was, sadly, looked down upon, but neither cared. A war was going on during this time, and the man joined with the wrong side to spy while the woman became a healer.

"A few months later, the woman found out she was pregnant and on the way to tell her lover, her memories were wiped and replaced with those of another man. The woman married the other man and all believed the child she bore was her husband's. Her lover was heartbroken and became very bitter. He accidentally gave his love's location away to the evil wizard of the time and the woman and her husband were killed." Here the man stopped and stayed silent. Jami opened her mouth to speak, but remembered her promise to stay silent until he was finished and subsided.

"The child lived, as did the child's true father. And ever since then, the child has nearly escaped death every year." He paused. "You may ask one question now." Jami almost blurted all of them out but stopped and picked through them to find a relevant one.

"What, exactly, does this have to do with me?" Jami inquired.

"Ah, I had hoped you would ask me that. Do you remember when I mentioned angels earlier?" The man's smile was like those ones in the movies, where the bad guy smiles a smile filled with blackened teeth that bodes ill for the hero/heroine, except a bit…nicer, sort of.

"Yes, sir."

"Well, it appears that you are an angel. A guardian angel, to be precise. And you are not just any guardian angel, young Jamilene; you are the boy in the story's guardian angel. He's not much of a child now, but he is in definite need of an angel, especially since his godfather died last year."

"I see." Jami stopped, not about to ask questions when the man had more information to give.

"The child's name is Harry Potter, and his biological father is Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts. Harry lives with the Dursley family on Number 4 Privet Drive. I'm warning you now, young Jamilene, his home life is not ideal, and no matter how angry you become, you must not hurt them, for they will take it out on you. Harry is an honorable lad, and he will try to protect you. Do not let him do this. Ever, no matter where you are or even who it is."

"Yes sir." Jami nodded but internally she wondered just how awful the poor boy's life was.

"On a slightly brighter note, no one knows what exactly your gifts, due to your status as guardian angel, will be. They will show themselves in time."

"May I ask another question?" The man grinned.

"You just did. But yes, you may ask your questions now."

"Thank you." Jami paused, pondering how to phrase her next inquiry. "If I am an angel, does this mean I have passed on to this life?" That made everyone in the room laugh.

"Don't worry, child, we were not laughing at you," the man said, seeing her put-out expression. "We merely found the phrasing amusing. In answer to your question, no you are not dead. I am assuming your next question will be how you can be an angel, yes?" Jami nodded (A/N: she seems to be doing that a lot). "Well, your father is an angel, also a guardian, so it is only natural that you might be one as well. Any more questions?"

"Oh, may just a few thousand more," Jami muttered sarcastically. The man chuckled. "What are my duties as Harry's guardian angel?"

"It normally depends on the charge. For you, it would be to provide support, give him somebody to lean on, so to speak. At this present time, he's following Albus Dumbledore, but Dumbledore's time is fast approaching, and Harry must learn to make his own decisions. Let him stand on his own but catch him when he falls, and lead him gently through the rougher points of his life." Jami thought about what he said and nodded.

"Are there any goals?"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." The man replied.

Jami elaborated. "Is there a point he needs to reach, as in emotionally or mentally? Do I eventually need to inform both him and his father of their blood-ties or something similar? Or should I just be there for Harry and let the Fates take it from there?"

It was a long time before the man replied. "I would suggest talking to Harry's mother about that. I also think you yourself should make goals after you meet and get to know him. Speaking of, you will be going to live with the Dursleys under the pretense of your mother not wanting to deal with you and paying Vernon for it. You will be keeping your name as it is, and you are supposedly an American and are on your way to their home as we speak. If you wish to speak with Lily Potter, or your father, Richard, you'd best get moving as you will need to be at the Dursleys in a half hour." Jami nodded sharply and briskly left the room, hoping to be able to speak with Harry's mum quickly so that she could finally meet her Da.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Like? Don't like? Lemme know, please, 'cause otherwise I don't know what you like. And this really isn't meant to be religious, if it bothers you. I just thought Harry could use somebody to lean on and this popped into my head.

Side note: For future reference, angels are immortal, meaning they know a lot and they jump from subject to subject because most everyone they meet knows what they're talking about. While Jami's only half, she got the gene of jumping from topic to topic. I plan to have her piss off Snape by doing this, but it might not work out, we'll just have to see…Also, Jami's not immortal. She's immune to the Killing Curse, but can still die *hint, hint*.

REVIEW!!!!!...pweese? *gives extremely convincing puppy pout*


	2. I'm Yours

"Boy!" Vernon bellowed. Harry jerked off his bed and quickly made his out of his room.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked.

"Is your room clean?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. The other freak will be here soon and I expect you to take her upstairs and explain the rules to her. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." Just at that moment the doorbell rang.

"Get it boy." The grossly overweight man snarled, but Harry was already shuffling towards the door.

Harry opened it and saw a petite girl standing there. "Hi! I'm Jamilene, but if you call me that you'll be waking up in the hospital a month later, so I'd suggest calling me Jami. Are you Harry or Dudley?"

"Harry," the dark haired boy mumbled. "And I'd suggest following me and keeping absolutely silent." Jami looked at the boy who was supposedly her charge and began to take mental notes.

_Well, he's definitely too skinny and he looks exhausted. Probably from those nightmares. He's walking a tad bit funny. I'll try and weasel that out of him once we get upstairs._

Harry silently led her to his door and opened the door. Jami managed to let a puzzled look across her face to hide the anger. Well, and she had to act like she had gone through the same thing, which she did, in a way. Mainly because of being Harry's guardian angel. "Do they lock you up too?" Jami asked sympathetically.

"What?" Harry startled, seemingly forgetting she was with him.

"You're also locked up. Wow, this place is huge. Well, compared to my cupboard anyways. Is this your owl? She's a beauty. What are the courses at Hogwarts? Are there really strict rules? What are the teacher's like? What house are you in? Have you finished your summer assignments? I just got mine yesterday. What d'you do around here? Do you have any chores? Do we get food? Are we beaten if we don't do things right? Is that why you're walking funny?" Jami stopped and gulped in air. Harry stared at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"And you managed to say all that in one breath how?" He muttered.

"When you talk to yourself, it's a sign that you're lonely. Or insane." Jami grinned when Harry glanced up at her, his eyes sparkling in anger.

"Do you ever shut up?" He snapped.

"Only if you 'Silencio' me!" Jami chirped in reply.

"I can't. One, its summer-"

"Duh!" She interrupted. Harry glared. "What? You're the one making a comment so obvious it made you out to be an idiot!"

"We don't use magic over the summer! Well, under aged witches and wizards at least. Two, Uncle Vernon took my wand away!" Harry replied. Jami pretended to gape.

"Really? Wow, it really is different over here. In America, we don't use wands and students are _always_ allowed to use magic. How else do you improve? And how would you protect yourself?"

"Whatever. Anyways, Uncle Vernon told me to tell you the rules, which I'm not going to bother doing." Jami took on an affronted look.

"Okay, so I get that we may not have gotten off on the right foot, but that's no reason to throw me to the sharks!"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Harry replied in exasperation. "What I meant was, the rules change every day. The only set ones are no magic. You do it, you get beaten. Second, no questions. You do it, you don't eat for however many weeks or days they want. Third, do everything the Dursleys say unless you want to get beaten within an inch of your life. Fourth, run for this room if anyone shows up at the door, even if it's a witch or wizard. No use taking chances. You get seen, you'll be lucky to make it to Hogwarts without fainting or having people flip out because some blood has shown through. If you follow those basic guidelines, you'll make it to Hogwarts just skinny and sore. If you don't, good luck trying to stay away from some of the Slytherins. Many of them are bullies that go for the weakest person they can find."

Jami watched Harry throughout the entire monologue. She probably learned more from just listening and watching him than his best friends had in all the years they had known each other. For one, Harry's always been abused. Jami was holding onto her anger when she realized that and realized that Dumbledore and the rest of the Hogwarts staff just ignored the very obvious signs, such as emaciation and stiffness in the movements. Second, Harry didn't know the difference between abuse and discipline. Oh, he knew abuse was wrong, but he didn't know where one started and the other left off. Thirdly, Harry didn't trust anyone with the secrets about his relatives. Oh, maybe they knew parts, but not the whole story. He was too used to having to run, hide, slink…He didn't know how to react to anything different. If he'd been kicked out, he'd have survived years on the streets.

"Harry, how did you get hurt?" Jami asked softly. Harry flinched just a tad, but didn't say anything. "Harry, please. Not telling someone won't benefit you at all. I know you find it hard to trust someone, but, please, tell me. I swear on my honor that I would never betray your trust, not even under Veritaserum or the Imperious or under any sort of torture. Please tell me. We're in the same boat now, might as well have someone who can help you without making you totally uncomfortable with the situation. Please!" Jami implored.

Harry sighed and leaned against the headboard of his bed. He winced when he hit some bruises or lashes, but seemed to ignore the pain. Jami's heart ached for her young charge. Harry patted the area of mattress in front of him and Jami obliged him by sitting down. "I don't know if I can tell you. I don't know how." He whispered.

"Try?" Jami inquired a pleading look on her face. "I know it's hard, Harry. I really do, but it's not healthy to keep it all bottled up. I'll help you as best as I am able, if only you'd tell me."

"I really don't think I can." He said, a slightly panicked look coming onto his green eyes. Jami sighed and nodded.

"Fine." Harry let out his breath and smiled shakily. "Oh, don't think I'm letting you get out of it. But we'll do it this way. Anytime I tell you something about myself, you have to tell me. And it doesn't have to be something deep at first. But I do want to try to get to it, at least by Christmas. Okay?" Harry nodded uncertainly. "Okay. Well, one of my weaknesses is a good puppy-dog-pout. Mind you, a good one. The one that makes old ladies cry. Otherwise, they just annoy me." Harry smiled a bit.

"Cool. My weakness is chocolate. I don't know why, but it is. Maybe because I've never had it before. Either way, it's a weakness. I can't stand other sweets though." Jami fought not to smile, but couldn't help it. "What are you smiling at?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about how easily I can bribe you. My father is like some kind of part owner for a fudge company. If I ever need to get something from you, all I need to do is get him to send some fudge!" She laughed and Harry mock-glared.

"That's not funny, Jami! I lost a lot of my quills and parchment to Ron, just because his mum makes the best fudge I have ever had. Then again, I've never had any besides hers. And why are you here if you can live with your father?" Jami looked uncomfortable. She couldn't answer that without saying that she was his guardian angel.

"I can't answer that at the moment, sorry. It's kind of a sore subject." Jami answered quietly. Harry nodded. "Are you ticklish?" Jami changed the subject. Harry kind of froze and a look of terror seized his face. "Harry, relax. I was just asking! I'm not going to do anything, I swear! I just wanted to get off the subject of my Da. Seriously, 'Ry!"

Harry snapped out of it at the nickname. "Don't call me that!" He said. Jami giggled. "What?"

"You don't want me to call you that? Why?" Harry shrugged and Jami laughed a little harder. "Sorry. I find it funny that you've got all these nicknames in the W.W. but you hate a shortened version of Harry!" She kept laughing and after a minute of glaring, Harry's resolve broke and he began to laugh a bit too.

After a few minutes of laughing, the two calmed down. Then, Harry said, "Thanks." Jami looked at him in surprise.

"For what?"

"For…Well…You know…" Harry gestured wildly and searched for words before settling down and saying, "For making me laugh."

"Don't you laugh with your friends and at Hogwarts?"

"Well, yeah, but not in the same way. I mean, kind of…maybe? Oh, I don't know!" Harry huffed in frustration. "All I know is that laughing like this wasn't the same! I just don't think I've laughed, really laughed, over something that I found amusing in years. Kind of like…"

"Laughing with them but not about the actual thing they found funny?" Jami supplied. Harry nodded.

"I guess what I'm saying is…Thank you for letting me be myself." Harry finally concluded. Jami frowned.

"Then you should always be yourself around me. I don't care about the Boy-Who-Lived or your fame and fortune. I want to know Harry. Just Harry, not his many masks used to please people."

"Yeah, but..."

"Harry, please. Don't argue with me on this. Even if you need time to figure who Harry is, just Harry, fine. But don't argue about this. Everyone needs a break." Harry sighed and nodded. The two sat in a companionable silence for a while.

Suddenly, pounding on the door startled them so much, each jumped about a foot in the air. "Boy! Girl! Get your butts downstairs and fix dinner, or you'll get a beating and go without food for a week!" Petunia shrieked. Both teens grimaced and stood as one to do as she ordered.

(A/N: I was going to end it here, but mermaid-girl34 would have been mad at me, since I showed her the rough draft. So, here's the rest!)

The days passed quickly for Harry and Jami, and both became extremely close. They often called each other names just to annoy each other. Harry'd gotten more used to nicknames, especially since most were affectionately given. Jami told Harry something about herself every day, meaning Harry had to tell her something in return. Many people who didn't even know the two could tell they were close because of the fact that they moved in synch with each other. If Harry did the dishes, Jami dried and put them away, and neither was behind or ahead. Indeed, many a passerby wondered if they weren't, in fact, twins.

The only problem they'd run in to was Harry's nightmares. He often woke up screaming, and Jami would have to muffle his screams, lest Vernon come and beat them. Jami often ended up sleeping in his bed to comfort her young charge.

When September 1st came around, the two knew just about everything about each other. The only thing Jami hadn't told him was her status as a guardian angel and the fact that Severus Snape was Harry's father. However, that was about to change. "'Ry?" Jami asked quietly as she gathered her uniform and schoolbooks and carefully packed them into her trunk.

"What's up, Jami?" Harry asked, closing his fully packed trunk.

"Besides the sky and ceiling you mean?" The two cracked a smile at the joke. "I have a secret I absolutely have to tell you before we get to Hogwarts." Harry sat on his bed, back against the headboard while Jami took her customary spot at the end of the bed with her back against the wall.

"Why?"

"Because we're most probably going to be in separate houses. Actually, I think I'll be in Slytherin." Well, not true. Jami knew she'd be in Slytherin because that was where Harry got threatened the most. Jami frowned as Harry's face darkened. "Don't be dense enough to get a black eye before we get out of this hell hole, Harry. House discrimination is just stupid and wrong. Think about Pettigrew! He was a Gryffindor, and he went over to Voldemort!"

Harry sighed, nodded and gave her a sly grin. "Well, Jami, if you got into the house of the slimy snakes, I'd have to forfeit hanging out with you for the better, loyal lions." He teased. Jami grinned. This was the Harry she knew was real. Not the savior, not the student, not the slave. Just Harry.

"Loyal? Try _laggard_!" Jami shot back, smiling as well. Then she grew serious. "I'm serious, Harry, and don't go for that pun. I mean it." Harry glanced at her curiously but nodded.

"So what do you so desperately need to tell me?"

Jami hesitated. "Do you- Do you believe in angels?" She asked unsurely. Harry stared at her in confusion for a minute but nodded. Jami relaxed a bit. "Oh. Well, that's good." Another pause as Jami tried to figure out how to say this. "There's no way to put it subtly, so I guess I'll just come out and say it. I'm an angel. A guardian angel, to be more specific." She bit her lip and watched Harry's reaction.

Harry nodded slowly, pondering a few things. "That would explain a few things, like how you knew things I was feeling and your wandless magic. Aren't all guardian angel's able to do wandless magic?"

"All angel's can, actually. But, Harry, I'm not just_ any_ guardian angel; I'm yours."

---^----

Hi! So, yeah. I tried to make this moderately long. Reviews, as always, are welcome. Even flames! I'll use them to start a fire!

……Wait, that came out wrong. I meant start a fire in my fire pit. God, now I sound like some sort of pyromaniac! Anyways, next chappie will be up soon! And I'll hopefully be able to update my other stories.

My thanks to mermaid-girl34 for her marvelous help in ideas and quotes and absolutely random nicknames!

pixi-styx1221


	3. Snakes and Lions

"Harry!" Jami panted. "Harry, wait up!" Her charge paused, turned around and grinned.

"Hurry up, you slow poke. A snail is faster than you!"

"You could at least help me with all this crap! After all, it's your stuff too!"

"Yeah, but you're the one with the top secret and especially special, special powers. Why don't you put them to good use? He answered cheekily.

"I'll put them to good use by forcing you to stay in the lake for a week…in the winter!" Jami retorted, happily slipping into the familiar banter. Not the best threat, but it was all she could come up with at this time.

"Would I even survive that?" Harry smiled at her and motioned to the brick wall that hid the entrance of Platform 9 ¾. To a Muggle, they looked like ordinary teenaged kids, probably siblings, waiting around for their parents.

"If you did, my plan failed. If you didn't, more pie for me!" Harry snorted at Jami's gleeful reply as they fell through the entrance to the platform.

"You hate pie, Jami."

"That's beside the point, dumb nut."

"Then what's the point?"

"The point is...is…is…okay, there really isn't a point. But that's beside the point!"

"We are so no going there again." Harry shot her a small smile, which Jami returned by sticking her tongue out like the very mature sixteen year old guardian angel she was.

"Fine," Jami huffed. A pause as she picked up her trunk. Then she leveled a glare at Harry. "I still don't see you helping me." Harry laughed, the bright, cheerful sound carrying over the crowd of solemn witches and wizards as they sent off their children. Many turned to glare at them.

"Oh, whatever, you big baby." Harry teased, turning around to grab his own trunk. "They aren't even that heavy!"

"Maybe to you, macho man," she shot back. "But to this poor weakling, they feel like several tons of bricks…of _gold_ bricks!" Harry laughed again.

"Let's just get this stuff on board and find a compartment." Harry stepped away from a door, holding it open. "Milady," he said solemnly, a twinkle in his eye as he bowed. Jami stuck her nose in the air and gave a disdainful sniff worthy of a pureblood.

"Don't even _think_ of pick pocketing my trunk, peasant boy," She sneered. "As soon as you have taken care of my belongings, go and get me twelve Chocolate Frogs, and, no, you may not have one."

"As milady wishes," Harry replied in a grave voice. Jami disappeared with a giggle to find a compartment, leaving Harry to lift the trunks onto the locomotive.

"So, Potter," a voice drawled. "Got yourself a job, did you? As a servant no less."

"Malfoy," Harry answered, keeping his tone light and pleasant. "It's been a while. How did you fare this summer? And how are your mother and father? Well, I hope." He turned around to face the young Malfoy heir with a small, indulgent smile on his face. When he saw the other boy, he had to work to keep the smile on his face. Malfoy looked terrible. He was drawn, pale and skinny…well, more so than usual.

"Did you spend all your money, Potter? Try to keep the Weasels in school and clothes? What a waste."

"Yes, I suppose it would be, seeing as they'd never accept it. They seem to do quite well on their own, anyhow. Pity, it does seem that you are a bit worse for wear. Do you need a few Galleons? I'd be happy to lend you some. And you look dreadfully skinny. Have you been eating at all?" Harry put fake concern into his voice, letting a small frown mar his features.

"Shut up, Potter!" Malfoy growled.

"Of course." Harry bowed mockingly. "Now if you don't mind me excusing myself, my friend asked me to retrieve some Chocolate Frogs and I promised to get them." Then Harry nodded to the platinum blonde and turned his back on his red faced rival to walk away.

"You'll regret this, Potter!" Malfoy called to his back. "You'll regret turning me down in first year. Now you're just going to end up dead with your Mudblood mother and blood traitor father!"

Harry chuckled, sadly and darkly, and looked over his shoulder at the child behind him. "Malfoy, I feel bad for you. I really, honestly do. You don't know what a war can and will do. You don't know what it's like to watch friends and family die. You don't know what it's like to love unconditionally and irrevocably. And one day, when you do, when you understand, it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt a lot." He smiled sadly at the shocked look on Draco's face. "And I'll still feel bad for you, because that pain will destroy you. You just won't know how to deal with it." Malfoy started to come back to himself, but Harry turned his back. "You have a good year, Malfoy."

Then Harry boarded the train, too soon to see Draco's face as a dawning realization came across it. Too soon to hear, "You too, Potter…Harry."

Jami, on the other hand, had met two rather pleasant Slytherins while on her quest to find and empty compartment.

"Oh, hello!" Jami greeted in surprise when she opened the door to see the two in an intense discussion. "I didn't mean to intrude." The two eyed her warily and Jami knew the duo had noticed her lack of a House crest.

"Who are you?" The dark haired girl inquired. Jami noticed the slight flick of her wrist that brought her wand into her hand.

"Isn't it rude to ask someone their name when you, yourself, have yet to introduce yourself?" Jami replied loftily. The boy's lips twitched as he tried to stave off a smile.

"Blaise Zabini, and my companion is-"

"Daphne Greengrass." The girl cut in. "Now will you introduce yourself?"

"Billy Carl, nice to meet you." Jami smirked. The girl blinked in surprise and Blaise burst out laughing.

"Yeah, right. What's your real name?" Daphne replied.

"Carla Johnson," Jami replied promptly. At that moment, Harry walked in.

"Here, Jami. And why'd you have to come all the end of the train?"

"To annoy you, of course. Why else would I do it?"

"To annoy me," he replied.

"That's what she said," Daphne cut in, her utter confusion making her forget just who she was talking to.

"That's the point!" Blaise, Jami and Harry said in unison. Daphne just loode confuse. Blaise shook his head.

"I'll explain it to you when you're older," the Slytherin youth told her exasperatedly. Then he turned to Harry. "What did you call her, Potter?" Harry flashed Jami a look while she attempted to look innocent. Needless to say, it didn't work.

"Really, Jami?" Harry asked, folding his arms across his chest while trying not to smile in amusement.

"Really what, Harry?"

"You know what, Jay Bird. Must you always play mind games with people?"

"Hey, show some respect, Harry Bear! It got you to one up little ickle Drakie Poo." Jami shot back with a grin.

"Why can't you just call him 'Ferret' like the rest of us?"

"Because calling him 'ickle' and 'little' will piss him off more than 'Ferret' does. Remember, he's the heir of a prominent pureblood family. Anything about size or wealth or whatever could be taken as a derogatory remark about political and social standings." Harry grimace but nodded.

"How do you know so much about purebloods? And seriously, what's your real name?" Daphne inquired. Harry looked at the Slytherin girl curiously.

"Sorry to interrupt, Greengrass, but what do yo mean by 'real'?" Both Slytherins gave him utterly bewildered looks.

"What?"

"He said-"Jami began in a condescending tone.

"We know what he said!" They shouted in unison. The ground jerked undermeath their feet, suddenly reminding the four youths that they were not in a secure place but on a train headed for school.

"Then answer instead of making yourselves out to be total morons by asking foolish, idiotic, and irrelevant questions." Harry told them firmly, hist tone stern and his eyebrows pulled down into a scowl. Jami watched warily as a flash of recognition crossed Blaise's face. She sincerely hoped it was more of a déjà vu moment, with the feeling of familiarity than actual knowledge. If it was knowledge, she hoped to all gods and deities in the world that the boy knew when to keep his mouth shut.

There was a long silence as the two Slytherin students contemplated what Jami and Harry had said. "Exactly," Jami finally commented in satisfaction.

"I still don't get it," Daphne admitted. Jami smiled softly and shrugged.

"That's okay. I give Harry questions like that all the time, and only recently has he started understanding what I'm saying."

Harry nodded in affirmation when the duo looked at him. "She always gives me impossible questions with strange answers. My suggestion? Meditate before bed for a while and think about it when your calm and relaxed before going to sleep." The Slytherins considered his advice for a moment before reluctantly nodding.

"Come find me when you have the answer." Jami said, turning to leave.

"What if we can't?" Daphne blurted. Jami and Harry laughed.

"Can't?" Harry began.

"Or won't." Jami made it a statement and smiled at them as the door closed behind her.

It took a while for the trio to break; Blaise was the one who broke it. "Well, that was unexpected." The boy mused. Harry barked out a short and oddly bitter laugh.

"Yeah. She does that a lot. Might as well get used to it." He sighed ans gave them a rather sad smile. "Take care of her, snakes. And yourselves as well."

Only after he had been gone a while and the two had sat down and begun to talk that they realized that they'd just had a civil, almost pleasant, conversation with Harry Potter, Gryffindor Golden Boy. And it took just a little longer after that for his parting words to sink in. Not the content…but how they were said. They held no malice. Instead, they seemed sad…and regretful.

Like? Love? Hate? Please tell me! And I didn't mean to make it kind of depressing, but Harry said that that was what he was going to say and that he would torture me with Rictumsempra if I didn't put it in. *solemn face*

Review!

pixi-styx1221


	4. When Idiots Fight, I'll Eat Your Pie!

**Disclaimer: Did Colin Creevey live? Did Fred live? No, they didn't. Therein lies thy proof of my…unownership?**

Harry frowned as he wandered up the corridor of the train. So far, he had yet to find his friends and he was getting a bit frustrated. He knew they had a prefects meeting to attend but it had been over for a while now. He looked into a compartment and smiled.

"Hey guys." Harry said, opening the door to the compartment. His friends looked up. "I've been looking everywhere for you. What's up?"

"Hey Harry," Ron replied. "We just got out of the prefects meeting and we were about to come looking for you. Where've you been?"

"Looking for you." Harry narrowed his eyes and frowned at them. "Funny, I was under the impression that the prefects meeting had ended almost an hour ago." Ron and Hermione looked a little guilty and Harry leaned up against the doorway, not entering or sitting down. "Want to try that again?"

"Sorry, Harry, but we just figured you'd missed the train because of your uncle. We didn't know you were on since you didn't come to the Weasleys' nor did you owl us." Hermione replied. Harry quickly processed her words and tensed.

"_I_ didn't send you owls? _I_ didn't come to the Weasleys'?" Harry asked softly. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but your perfect record of being right has been broken…"

Jami sighed as she looked up from her book when she felt Harry's flash of anger and frustration. She didn't know if he had met up with his friends or if he was getting tired of looking, but it was annoying her. She glared at the wall across from her before going back to her book.

A few seconds later, another flash of anger broke her concentration. She growled in annoyance and huffed before going back to reading. Not a minute later a huge flood of anger, frustration and righteous indignation came through the bond. Now Jami quickly put down her book and left the compartment to look for Harry.

There was no way Harry would lose his temper like that unless something had gone really wrong. They had been working on controlling their emotions over the summer and Harry had gotten really good at it. If he was this angry, something bad was going on.

As she neared the front of the train, she heard people yelling and screaming and other people talking amongst themselves. She entered a car and saw a large group of people crowding around a door to one compartment. Jami groaned and carefully pushed her way through the crowd.

Reaching the front, Jami knew there was trouble. Harry's shoulders were extremely tense. Everyone outside the compartment seemed to be egging him on and Jami shook her head before propelling herself forward and into Harry's back. He fell forward and Jami used her magic to close the door and lock it. Then she got up and cast a Silencing Charm on the door.

"Damn it, Jamilene, why in the hell'd you do that?" Harry asked hotly. Jami whirled around and glared at him and his two friends. When Harry saw her expression, he visibly shrank and said softly, "Sorry, Jami. Didn't mean it."

"I don't care if you meant it or not," Jami replied in a clipped voice. "Is your head full of cotton? Or can you just not remember everything I've taught you this summer?"

"I let my temper get away from me. I know better than that, and I will remember to refrain from acting so foolishly in the future." Harry told her in a small voice.

"You better remember it. If you have a problem, talk it out. I don't care who started it, you are the mature one. Act like it." Then she softened and took a deep breath. "Another thing to keep in mind is to close, lock and ward the compartment if you don't want anyone to hear."

"I really am sorry, Jami. I do remember what you taught me, but I got caught up in the heat of the moment. If it happens again, I give you full permission to throw me into the lake in the middle of the winter. I only object to you eating my pie." Jami and Harry cracked a smile.

"I don't even like pie," Jami answered and they both burst out laughing. Jami offered her hand to her charge and helped him up before giving him a hug and ruffling his hair.

"Get the hell out of our compartment!" Ron bellowed after getting over his shock. Harry stopped laughing, and stared at Ron in disbelief. Jami slowly turned around and glared at the red-haired hothead.

"No, Ronald. You should know better than to fight like a common street rat as well. Now, I suggest you close your mouth and sit still until I am finished with my conversation. Then, and only then, may you speak _civilly_ to Harry or myself. Do I make myself clear?" Ron sat back and nodded.

"Ron, I give you fair warning: Never make her angry. She is more scary than Moldyshorts when angered. Think of a rampaging hippogriff or a dragon or something like that. Cornish Pixies work too." Harry told his friend seriously. Then he turned to Jami. "So whatcha wanna talk to me about?"

"Why were you so angry?"

"Well, I came in and asked them where they'd been since I'd been looking everywhere for them, which you already know. Anyways, they said that they'd just gotten out of the prefects meeting, which was totally incorrect since it got out now over an hour ago. They then said that they thought I had missed the train cause of the elephant. They didn't know anything since _I_ had never Owled nor did I go to the Weasleys'."

"That's all?" Jami gave him an exasperated look.

"Well, yeah…" Harry muttered uncomfortably. Jami reached up and smacked the back of his head.

"Harry! That was so trivial! Yeah, I get that it wasn't your fault but you didn't have to turn it into some huge argument about it. Good God you're dense." Harry rubbed the back of his head.

"I said I was sorry, Jami! You didn't have to hit me over the back of the head!"

"Yes I did. It's my job to do that. Now as for you two, Harry sent a total of fifty-two letters to you. That's twenty-six each. You were the ones that didn't reply, and don't tell me you never got them, because if you hadn't, they would have come back unopened. As it was, they never came back, meaning it was your fault for not answering, not his fault for not writing."

"But he still didn't come to the Weasleys'." Hermione said.

"You weren't at the Weasleys' you were at Grimmauld Place." Harry replied. The two looked shocked that he knew. "Oh, I knew. It's my house, didn't you know that? Sirius left everything except for a few thousand Galleons to me. Those Galleons went to Remus. As it is now my house, I know what goes on in it and I know who breaches the wards."

"Either way, you didn't come visit."

"He didn't get an invitation. Of course, it's not like he needs to, since it is his house. But all the stuff you are accusing him of ultimately rests on your shoulders. It was your choice not to extend an invitation to him and it was your choice not to answer his owls. If Harry hadn't been annoying me so much, I would have just let him pummel you to death. It's not like you don't deserve it." Jami told them.

"How do you know all this?" Hermione asked hotly, glaring angrily at her.

"She lived with me this summer. Her mother got fed up with her and her father is unavailable except for life-threatening circumstances. She spent the summer with me and is going to attend Hogwarts this year to give her mum a break."

"Who is she?"

"I am everything and nothing. I am your best dream or your worst nightmare. I can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy. I am fire and ice and everything you wish you were but you dread to become." Jami replied mysteriously. Harry started cracking up and just laughed harder when Jami gave him an annoyed look. "Harry!" She whined. "You ruined my mojo!"

"I'm sorry, Jay Bird, but it was bloody hilarious!" He started laughing again and Jami huffed and threw herself onto the seat, pouting. After a few minutes of laughing, he calmed down. "In answer to your question, Hermione, her name is Jami Dawson. I'm the only one who's allowed to call her anything else."

"I thought you called her Jamilene earlier."

"That is an example of one of the things only he can call me. It's my full name, but I hate it. It's much to formal for me. Anyways, Harry, I'm going back to our compartment. Join me if you want, but I'll either be sleeping or reading."

"Okay, Jami. I think I'm gonna stay here for a bit before coming back, okay?"

"Fine with me, Harry Bear." Jami left the compartment.

"Harry, why was she living with you this summer?" Ron inquired.

"I told you, her mum was fed up with her and her dad can only help her out in life-threatening circumstances."

"Yeah, but why you?"

"Cause her mum sent her to my aunt and uncle's and when they figured out she had magic, they immediately started locking her up with me. Geez, Ron, I dunno what's your problem. She's been living with me all summer and we're friends. Why does it matter why it was the Dursleys' her mum chose?"

"Dumbledore won't be happy. The wards should have kept her out or something." Hermione said. Harry pushed down the flash of anger he felt and focused on his breathing and ordered his thoughts a bit.

"Screw Dumbledore then." Harry said after a few minutes of silence. "He has no say in who is allowed or not allowed at the Dursleys'. Jami is my friend and she will never intentionally hurt me. In fact, she was the one that made sure I didn't become suicidal. I almost was when she arrived. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go back to our compartment and change into my robes." Then he too, left the compartment, leaving a stunned Ron and Hermione behind him.

Jami sighed as she stepped off the train and looked around at the Hogsmeade Station. Harry nudged her from behind and she moved away from the entrance and smiled at her charge as he fell into step beside her. They stopped when they came to the fork in the road, one leading to the boat docks and another leading to the carriages.

"You're positive it's gonna be green?" Harry asked, slightly in code. Jami sighed and nodded.

"Yeah. Sorry. You already know why." It was Harry's turn to sigh and nod.

"Just try not to get hurt."

"I can try, but only as long as you promise the same. Besides, we'll see."

"I know. You better go. They're leaving soon."

"I know. See you at the feast. Try not to do anything red."

"'Kay." Jami gave him a brief hug, ignoring Harry's initial flinch before he relaxed slightly. Then she turned and walked down the other path to the boats. Hagrid was just giving out directions and she hopped into a boat with some other kids.

As Hagrid called out a warning, their boat rounded the curve, pulling up alongside other ones. Jami gasped quietly with everyone else, but got over her shock quickly.

"Jamilene?" Someone asked. Jami frowned and looked over at the boat on her right.

"Oh. It's you." Jami said blandly, knowing it would get a rise out of the only other Halfling she knew.

"`Oh. It's you`? Is that all you have to say? No, 'Hi, Cain, good to see you again. How's life been going for you?' Nothing?"

"Nope." Jami replied, popping the 'P'. "At least not when you call me Jamilene. You know I hate people calling me that."

"Fine, _Jami_. Happy now?"

"Overjoyed." Jami replied dryly before smiling at her friend. "So, how's life?"

"Ugh." Cain replied. Jami raised an eyebrow, oblivious to the looks the first years were giving them.

"Really now? Is it that bad?"

"Not in the way you think. It's just not the best, you know?"

"Don't I ever." Jami sighed, easily slipping into the speech of an angel or Halfling.

"Yours?"

"I swear, if one more thing had gone wrong, I would not have been responsible for my actions. It's painful." Cain paled, knowing that everything he needed to know was in that simple sentence.

"Oh, my. Was it really awful?"

"Sera. Feles ianua. Pauci et longinquus inter farinas. Plangere." Jami said briefly, trying to get her point across. She knew the others were listening in and so resorted to her father's language of Latin. Cain, understanding the language naturally, paled even more.

"They really…?" He trailed off as Jami nodded grimly. The boats bumped into the dock and the two jumped out. "Oh, Jami, I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm complaining."

"Don't worry about it, Cain. I found one of my _indoles_. It helped."

"Really? What is it?"

"Guess, smart one." Jami rolled her eyes, making Cain laugh.

"I already did but I needed confirmation."

"Then yes, it's that."

"Your Da will be proud."

"I know. You found any yet?"

"Let's talk later, the Deputy Head's gonna be talking soon and then we'll be Sorted."

"We won't have time after the Sorting to talk." Jami told him, leaning up against a pillar.

"So get up early tomorrow so we can meet at breakfast to do so."

"What time?"

"Meet at _sextus_?"

"Meaning up at _quintus_."

"I suppose so, yes. That good?" Cain replied. Jami nodded and watched as McGonagall made her way over to them.

"You two will be Sorted last as you are transfers. Wait until Professor Dumbledore calls you in."

"Yes, ma'am." The two answered her in unison. She gave them a sharp look and then turned and re-entered the Great Hall.

"So what subject do you think you'll be good at?" Cain inquired after the first years entered the hall.

"Potions, most likely. I'll also be asking Madam Pomfrey if she can teach me a bit about Healing. Obviously, I could ask Da, but he can't teach Wizard healing, so…yeah." Jami told him. "Yourself?"

"Defense, most likely." Before he could say more, Dumbledore called them in. As they entered, people chattered about who they were and where they were from.

"Jamilene Dawson." McGonagall called. Harry burst into laughter at the Gryffindor table and everyone turned to look at him. Cain and Jami chuckled a bit themselves.

"Oh, shut it, Potter!" Jami called to him.

"Never! I shall never be silenced! Do you hear me? Never, I tell you, never!" He shouted.

"I'll eat your pie!" She threatened.

"You don't even like pie!"

"Then I'll let Cain here eat it! He, for one, loves it!"

"I'll shut up now!" Harry replied as soon as the last word left the girl's mouth. She smirked while Cain sat there laughing.

"By the way, I would prefer to be called Jami, not Jamilene." Jami told the Great Hall in general before walking up to the stool and plopping the Hat onto her head. Not much later, it called out, "Slytherin!"

And as the school applauded, Jami yelled, "I told you so!"

It's a lot longer! Aren't you all so proud of me? And I'm sorry for the long wait. I had the first part in my file but the second was in a notebook that conveniently disappeared. It took me a while to remember what I wrote. Funny thing is, I found the stupid notebook just after I finished typing this up. I was going to retype the whole thing, but I'm too lazy. Besides, this one is a lot better than the one in the notebook.

Alright, now for a few translations. 'Sextus' is six, 'quintus' is five, 'indoles' is talents and the huge sentence 'Sera. Feles ianua. Pauci et longinquus inter farinas. Plangere.' means 'Locks. Cat door. Few and far between meals.' 'Plangere' is a little harder to define. The basic definition is 'beat' but the actual definition is closer to 'the body in grief'. Hopefully you didn't get too confused by that!

**Warning: Rant Ahead**

Okay, so I get you want to read other stuff or you may not like this story that much. But it really would be nice to hear from you once in a while. If I don't get reviews, I don't know if people like it and I'm unsure whether or not to continue it. Admittedly, I'd most likely continue writing it because I enjoy writing it, but still. I really like to hear what you think. Even if it's as short as 'Good. Continue.' At least I know you, as my audience, are enjoying my wild imagination run away with J.K. Rowling's characters.

Rant over. Thanks for reading it, if you did. Review, please!

=pixi-styx1221


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